The End of an Era Draws Near with Unibet Leaving the Pennsylvania Market

Unibet, one of the biggest and most notable brand names in online casino and sports betting entertainment, is officially set to leave the lucrative Pennsylvania gambling and sports betting market in June. Earlier in the year, Unibet, owned by the Kindred Group, another prominent name in International and American gambling, announced plans to leave the entire North American market in November of last year.

While the initial news sent shockwaves through states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Unibet once served as a pillar, come June 21, the virtual lobby will close for good. Unibet was among the first online casino brands to enter the emerging online gambling PA market in 2019. The Keystone State officially ratified online gambling in 2017, when Governor Wolf signed HB271 into law to make The Quaker State the fourth in the nation to support online gambling, behind Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. Sports betting soon followed once the US Supreme Court overturned the PAPSA ban in 2018 to make way for legal PA sports betting.

As per the rules of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which require PA online casinos to have land-based partnerships, Unibet partnered with Mohegan Sun Pocono. Mohegan Sun is one of the most successful casinos owned by tribal Native Americans throughout the country. Through compacts, tribal casinos like Mohegan Sun can operate legally. Sites like Golden Nugget Casino operate legally in states like Pennsylvania, even without a land-based partnership, because they operate through a qualified gaming entity.

However, despite Pennsylvania becoming the second largest state behind Nevada in terms of annual gambling tax revenue and topping over $230 million in March this year, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, that’s not enough to stop Unibet from pulling out. However, while Unibet sports betting and aggressive online casino play thrived in 2019 and the early 2020s, the last few years haven’t been so kind.

Where once, Pennsylvanians logged in daily to take advantage of sports reload bonuses and weekly cashback prizes to play their favorite casino games, today, Pennsylvania players are reminded that Unibet is pulling out with notices as they log in. But, until June 21, players can continue playing their favorite games, making deposits, and processing withdrawals. When exactly the last day will be when Unibet PA players can no longer make deposits or withdrawals is not yet known.

Once Unibet closes its virtual lobby in June, The Quaker State will only have 20 online casino options. Even though Unibet announced that they were leaving last year, five new Pennsylvania online casinos announced their intentions to help pick up the mantle. Just this year, Fanatics opened its sports betting and casino doors in January. For PointsBet fans, the disappointment of PointBet pulling out soon turned to cheers with Fanantics more than picking up the ball.

Even though Mohegan Sun is losing Unibet, they are set to launch their own live website in the summer of this year. While the dates are unknown, PlayStar and Bet365 are set to enter the online gambling PA powerhouse market.